[SOLVED] Recommendations on a Wireless Router for thick walls

[neverknowu]

I'm currently using an Amplifi wireless router with 2 mesh points. From 10 feet away, with two walls between (doorways), my connection drops from 460 download to 30 download. This is with the mesh points.

Looking for any suggestions/recommendations on a whole house system that can go through thick plaster old building walls in a 2500 square foot house (probably lots of signals in the area doesn't help either). I have read a lot of reviews, but after one reviewer said that Amplifi was good at going through walls, I don't really trust it. I've read that Netgear Orbi is good, Netgear Nighthawk maybe...whatever it is so I can get back to work and my wife can work as well.

Because it's an old house too, there's very few options for where the router can go and the mesh points can fit.

Appreciate the help!

 

[bill001g]

There is no magic solution for this.

The amount of power output is regulated by the government and almost all modern routers put out very close to this legal maximum. In many cases it is the end device that has lower power or small antenna.

Repeater...ie mesh.. system take very careful placement. They must be placed in a area that gets good signal from the main router and can still deliver strong signal to the end devices. Mesh is marketed where you just put the pretty designer boxes in the remote rooms and by magic all your problems are gone. Mesh is targeted at uneducated consumers market and is mostly good at getting people to spend lots of money for fancy packaging.

In your case you would have to place the repeater unit in the middle of the wall so it could get signals on one side and send them on the other.

The only realistic solution is use a wire of some kind to go through the walls and then place a wifi radio ( ie a AP) on the end of the cable. Ethernet cables is the best option but many people do not have that. The next would be Moca if you have tv coax in both locations. You can also try powerline networks. The newer av2-1000 and av2-2000 unit will on average get about 200mbps in most houses it depends on many things related to the electrical wires.

 

[kanewolf]

I'm currently using an Amplifi wireless router with 2 mesh points. From 10 feet away, with two walls between (doorways), my connection drops from 460 download to 30 download. This is with the mesh points.

Looking for any suggestions/recommendations on a whole house system that can go through thick plaster old building walls in a 2500 square foot house (probably lots of signals in the area doesn't help either). I have read a lot of reviews, but after one reviewer said that Amplifi was good at going through walls, I don't really trust it. I've read that Netgear Orbi is good, Netgear Nighthawk maybe...whatever it is so I can get back to work and my wife can work as well.

Because it's an old house too, there's very few options for where the router can go and the mesh points can fit.

Appreciate the help!

The only solution is to pay a professional to install ethernet cabling. As @bill001g said, there is no magic to wall that prevent WIFI.

 

[gggplaya]

Whoever told you Amplify would be better doesn't know what they're talking about. Power output is at the limit of the FCC and the client device that has to talk back will be the same no matter what router you use. Good antenna transceiver design can help, but Amplify is no better or worse than other higher end routers.

Your options:
1. Try Powerline Ethernet if you house has updated electrical wiring. Don't expect gigabit speeds, 50-200mbps is more realistic.

2. Use MOCA if a cable installer like comcast has ever run cable in the house to several floors/rooms. This is the best option as you'll get actual gigabit speeds.

3. Run Ethernet up through an attic, basement or closet. Not as hard as people think.

 

[neverknowu]

There is no magic solution for this.

The amount of power output is regulated by the government and almost all modern routers put out very close to this legal maximum. In many cases it is the end device that has lower power or small antenna.

Repeater...ie mesh.. system take very careful placement. They must be placed in a area that gets good signal from the main router and can still deliver strong signal to the end devices. Mesh is marketed where you just put the pretty designer boxes in the remote rooms and by magic all your problems are gone. Mesh is targeted at uneducated consumers market and is mostly good at getting people to spend lots of money for fancy packaging.

In your case you would have to place the repeater unit in the middle of the wall so it could get signals on one side and send them on the other.

The only realistic solution is use a wire of some kind to go through the walls and then place a wifi radio ( ie a AP) on the end of the cable. Ethernet cables is the best option but many people do not have that. The next would be Moca if you have tv coax in both locations. You can also try powerline networks. The newer av2-1000 and av2-2000 unit will on average get about 200mbps in most houses it depends on many things related to the electrical wires.

Gosh thanks for a realistic answer. I was going mad reading reviews. There are so many things that don't work for me in this house. I love it but it's old Spanish style with thick walls and my office is on the farthest side of the house where I need the fastest speed. Complicate that with very few outlets (like 1 maybe 2 per room). I don't know about Moca though. I guess I would still need the cable guy or an electrician to come and install that?

Also, if I'm reading this correctly, you need at least 2 MoCA devises right?

 

[gggplaya]

Gosh thanks for a realistic answer. I was going mad reading reviews. There are so many things that don't work for me in this house. I love it but it's old Spanish style with thick walls and my office is on the farthest side of the house where I need the fastest speed. Complicate that with very few outlets (like 1 maybe 2 per room). I don't know about Moca though. I guess I would still need the cable guy or an electrician to come and install that?

I was only mentioning MOCA if a cable installer had already installed coax tv wiring in the house. Cable tv was popular for the last 30 years, so many older homes had tv's installed in different rooms. Those cable lines would still be good to use for MOCA.

If you're having an installer come out to install coax, you might as well have them install ethernet.

Does you home have an attic or unused basement or crawl space under the house. It would make it easy to run ethernet from one end of the house to the other.

 

[neverknowu]

I was only mentioning MOCA if a cable installer had already installed coax tv wiring in the house. Cable tv was popular for the last 30 years, so many older homes had tv's installed in different rooms. Those cable lines would still be good to use for MOCA.

If you're having an installer come out to install coax, you might as well have them install ethernet.

Does you home have an attic or unused basement or crawl space under the house. It would make it easy to run ethernet from one end of the house to the other.

There is an access point I could feed the ethernet wire out from where the cable modem is now to the outside of the building, underneath it, then to the other side of the building. It would need to be a long cable though.

I have a feeling though the internet would be a whole lot smoother if I was able to pull the router from the other side of my office wall into the main house area. I guess if I had an ethernet 4 port switch directly from the modem, I could feed one cable to the router and the others would stay in my office for my hard lined system. That would work without losing speed, right? Any reason that I need to keep the Amplifi as the main router instead of the secondary one? I guess I do miss the firewall protection from the Amplifi. Ugh.

 

[gggplaya]

You would need a router between the switch and the modem, since the router is the NAT which assigns IP addresses to all your devices.

They make 500ft and 1000ft spools of ethernet cable, which aren't that expensive. If running it outside, make sure you buy UV safe outdoor cable so the sunlight doesn't deteriorate the cable. Once the cable is outside, you could come up from underneath through a closet so it wouldn't be unsightly. Then just punch out of the closet into an interior wall and install a wall plate to make it look professional. You can use punch down connectors for the ethernet ends. just watch youtube, it's not too hard.

A wifi access point at both sides of the house would solve your issues.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gxNZoPcnP4&t=242s

 

[neverknowu]

You would need a router between the switch and the modem, since the router is the NAT which assigns IP addresses to all your devices.

They make 500ft and 1000ft spools of ethernet cable, which aren't that expensive. If running it outside, make sure you buy UV safe outdoor cable to the sunlight doesn't deteriorate the cable. Once the cable is outside, you could come up from underneath through a closet so it wouldn't be unsightly. Then just punch out of the closet into an interior wall and install a wall plate to make it look professional. You can use punch down connectors for the ethernet ends. just watch youtube, it's not too hard.

A wifi access point at both sides of the house wouldn't solve your issues.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gxNZoPcnP4&t=242s

Thank you! I really appreciate your time.